One email \u2014 which I no longer have access to \u2014 is connected to my iTunes and App Store purchases, the other to iCloud.<\/p>\n
Of course isn\u2019t an overwhelming issue. Everything works, after all. But it is ungraceful. I mean, there could well be purchases on both? And files? I\u2019m neither clairvoyant nor motivated enough to find out for certain.<\/p>\n
The issue rears its head with particular force whenever I get a new Apple product. Most recently, this was my new MacBook Pro<\/a>. It means I have to sign in to a couple of addresses and try and remember which email does what. It fills me with the opposite of joy.<\/p>\n On paper, solving this should be simple. Why don\u2019t I just merge the Apple IDs? Well, come closer, let me tell you a secret: you can\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n Merging Apple IDs is impossible<\/a>. And it\u2019s unlikely to ever change.<\/p>\n From all my reading, there are two overarching reasons: security and complexity.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s assume for a moment that someone accesses your Apple ID. If merging accounts was something you could easily do, a hacker could potentially gain access to all your data, documents, and apps, and fold them all into an address they own.<\/p>\n This would make it infinitely trickier to wrestle back control of your account \u2014 especially as it wouldn\u2019t technically exist any more.<\/p>\n Then, we have the technical side.<\/p>\n A single Apple ID can hold documents, downloads, App data, personal information, contacts, and, well, anything else digital you can imagine. Merging all this is far from simple.<\/p>\n To illustrate the complexity, let\u2019s look at one single thing: app data.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say each of the two Apple IDs you\u2019re trying to merge contain the same app. How would merging this work? You can\u2019t just mush two different user profiles and personal data into a single entity and expect it to function properly.<\/p>\n Even if you take something relatively simple like Netflix \u2014 that just contains cloud-hosted profiles \u2014 the technical challenge of combining multiple viewer accounts into a single experience would require a bespoke solution.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s just a simple example. Imagine throwing iCloud encryption, data laws from different regions, and national software regulations into this mix.<\/p>\n Like almost everything in life, what appears simple on the surface is actually mind-bogglingly complex when you look closer.<\/p>\n There are a few tips and tricks you can try<\/a> to transfer your data across accounts. On top of this, Family Sharing can also mitigate some of the negatives of having multiple Apple IDs.<\/p>\n The problem is these options are fiddly and inelegant. Let\u2019s remember that final term.<\/p>\nWhat?! Why the hell is merging Apple IDs impossible?<\/h2>\n
So what are your options for merging Apple IDs?<\/h2>\n
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